THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



201 



months, the female warty newt is busily 

 engaged in depositing her ova, and thus 

 providing for a future race of tritons. Her 

 manner of doing this is not only interesting, 

 but also extremely ingenious. She chooses 

 by preference a long-leaved water-plant, but 

 is sometimes content with the leaves of 

 grasses ; and in a dexterous fashion (though 

 I need not relate the method here), con- 

 trives to roll up each egg in a single leaf 

 The egg is globular in form, and is kept in 

 position on the leaf by the sticky substance 

 with which it is enveloped. The eggs are 

 numerous, and are all, if the situation is 

 favourable, disposed in this careful way. 

 The object of the newt in placing her eggs 

 thus, is probably to perserve them from the 

 attacks of various predaceous creatures, 

 such as the large water beetles and their 

 larvae, and similar inhabitants of pools and 

 ditches. In pools where there are no plants, 

 the eggs are probably dropped at the bot- 

 tom, or concealed among moss or stones. 

 I have found tiny newts in a cellar many 

 feet below the surface of the ground, the 

 only accommodation for their production 

 being a small sink or drain, occasionally 

 partly filled with water. The ova of this 

 newt is not all deposited at the same 

 time, but at intervals, extending over many 

 days or perhaps weeks. 



In about three weeks time the eggs hatch, 

 and a queer little tadpole drops into the 

 water, and enters into the wriggling, frolic- 

 ing life, common to all tadpoles. It is 

 similar to that of the frog and toad, breath- 

 ing by means of gills (branchics) outside the 

 neck. It is said to feed on water-fleas and 

 other aquatic creatures, and has been known 

 to gorge tiny specimens of the tadpole of 

 the smooth newt. In about twelve or thir- 

 teen weeks time, the newt-tadpole arrives at 

 its full growth, and then a great change 

 takes place in its appearance. The breath- 

 ing organs or branchics now vanish, and the 

 legs appear. The forelegs are the first to 



show, thus being the direct contrary of the 

 frog and toad tad-pole, in which reptiles the 

 hind legs always appear first. Now we have 

 a perfect litttle newt. It now breathes by 

 means of lungs, and is forced every now 

 and then to rise to the surface of the water 

 to take in air. Some of these little newts 

 leave the water early, having found them 

 under stones, in the neighbourhood of water, 

 at the end of summer. These must have 

 proceeded from early deposited ova. 



After the deposition of the ova the adult 

 newts migrate from the water, and are seen 

 in various places on land. The favourite 

 haunts of the newt on land are old walls, 

 and under stones, from which after a gentle 

 shower it issues forth to search for worms 

 and insects. At these times the warty newt 

 is a decidely active reptile, and may often 

 be seen wriggling about the paths in a gar- 

 den with great agility. A sudden shower 

 after a drought has a great effect on reptiles. 

 The frogs, toads, and newts all crawl forth 

 from their retreats and feast luxuriously 

 on the slugs, beetles, worms, and other 

 creatures which the rain brings out. The 

 food of the warty newt consists principally 

 of insects and worms, but if more than com- 

 monly hungry it will devour the tadpole of 

 the frog, toad, or its own species ; and in 

 an aquarium it has been known to devour 

 small specimens of the smooth newt. When 

 it has contrived to swallow one of the latter, 

 the meal is said to last for several days. It 

 seizes worms, &c. with a rapid snap. 



The warty newt is said to be three or 

 four years in coming to maturity, and dur- 

 ing this time it frequently changes its skin. 

 The skin sometimes comes off almost entire, 

 that covering the feet drawing off like a pair 

 of delicate, semi-transparent gloves, ex- 

 tremely fragile and beautiful. After dis- 

 robing itself thus, the newt often swallows 

 its former covering. 



Such is a portion of the interesting "life 

 history" of the warty newt, and from the 



